Open Thread 2016-16

We should start a new party called 99% party. Our candidate will be one of the celebrities that are very smart and not under control. We know there's a lot of ignorance in this country, it's the majority, and this keeps them filing back to polls to vote for the puppets. We can't change that. We know they worship celebrity, so will vote for it. You'll also get people who wouldn't vote otherwise to vote.

I believe in ordinary people. I am one. Certainly I have no faith in celebrities. Nor do I think that other ordinary people worship celebrities. I think we accept celebrity as a game the corporate press has chosen to play in order to keep us occupied with inconsequentials. We might absent-mindedly pick a momentary favorite. The problem is that far too many of us are so hard-pressed financially that all we have time for when we're done hustling for the day is collapse.

Who is a smart celebrity willing to stick his neck out? I'm reminded of Ashley Judd. Seems she surrendered (self-preservation) once she was "made certain" that Mitch McConnell could (would) ruin her life if she followed through with a campaign agin him.

@1 don't we have that with Trump? or does the "not under control" rule him out? I don't know if I'll pull the lever for him when it's time but he is a celebrity running. I like #2's post about ordinary people.

Note: The campaigns have sparred over this issue since, each with similar talking points.

What Bernie, his campaign, and his campaign supporters have (suspiciously) failed to note is this:

1) Dodd-Frank was seen as very weak regulation by independent experts (like Yves Smith at nakedcapitalism.com). In fact, much of the bill was watered-down via rule-making that was essentially written by the industry and enforcement was delayed for years.

In addition, Dodd-Frank explicitly places consumers in a second position, via the Financial Stability Oversight Council which can nullify consumer protection provisions. This essentially creates a silent, industry-wide 'bail-in' mechanism.

2) Obama's Justice Dept wouldn't prosecute Wall Street executives.

3) Obama re-nominated Ben Bernanke despite his having given Wall Street 'back door bailouts' that were valued at tens of billions of dollars.

To this day, Banks do not 'Mark to Market' (put a true and accurate value on their assets)!!

5) Obama reneged on many campaign promises - including to end the 'carried interest' tax deduction that benefits millionaire/billionaire hedge fund managers.

6) Obama made (most of) the Bush Tax Cuts permanent via collusion with Republicans that resulted in the 'Fiscal Cliff' kabuki. The 'Fiscal Cliff' deal also led to the 'Sequester' which forced massive cuts in social spending.

He staged a show of defiance over the 'Fiscal Cliff'/Sequester deal that was called a "filibuster" (blocking a bill from passage) but it wasn't a real filibuster (as it had no blocking effect whatsoever), just a long speech that some in the media took to calling it such.

Why doesn't Bernie attack Obama?
Hillary gets the Black vote largely because of Obama's support of her and her matching rhetoric that praises Obama.

This is supposed to be Bernie's biggest issue! In fact, the 2008 Global Financial Crises hit black households much harder than most. Minorities were much more likely to have their homes taken away, partly because they had been targeted for predatory loans during the credit bubble. And they lost their jobs in greater numbers when the bubble burst. Meanwhile, Wall Street was treated with kit gloves - record bonuses were again doled out with a year or two of the 2008 debacle.

=

PS Actually, Hillary changed her vote on the Bankruptcy Bill as proven by Senator Elizabeth Warren. Sanders mentioned this in a quick interview will CNN after the debate. Because he said it afterwards, Warren's clear example got almost no attention in the media - which played up Sanders not being able to cite a single instance instead!

Had Sun Tsu co-authored a treatise on the art of sports with Capt. Obvious, a quote from that seminal work would probably read as follows:

If your team keeps playing an offensive game and keeps losing, eventually it will end up playing a defensive game, and will lose that too.

Stands to reason, doesn't it? The team I have in mind is the neocon-infested Washington régime, which is by now almost universally hated, both within the US and outside of its borders, and the offensive game is the game that has been played by the Color Revolution Syndicate, with George Soros writing the checks and calling the shots. Having lost ground around the world, it is now turning its attention to trying to hold on to its home turf, which is the US.

Behind the Washington régime stands a group of transnational oligarchs, including many of the richest people in the world, and the game they play is ..[.]

Saw an interview with Bill Kristol today which talked about the 'NEVER TRUMP' effort.

He said that Cruz would probably name Fiorina as running mate to better appeal to Indiana voters. If Cruz-Fiorina and Kasisch failed to derail Trump before the Convention, then the Republican establishment my support a third-party run OR a candidate that runs in an already established third party (Libertarian Party, Conservative Party, etc.).

I find it strange (not really) how the establishment can conspire to derail Trump - thereby electing Hillary - with few complaints. But if one suggests that Bernie supporters vote Green, then there is an outcry.

I like Bernie Sanders but his campaign -- imho -- was sanctioned by the Democratic Party to keep all the young voters "in the game" ... and he has already pledged to support the nominee. Nuf said. As with Obama in 2008, no body really expected him to do so well. (FWIW, if they had any brains at all, they might have taken a clue from 2008 -- and 2000 -- and not be surprised.)
Sander kept a 3rd party and 3rd party candidate from gaining leverage, momentum -- which is priceless to keeping Democrats voting for the "lesser of two evils" which is usually them -- in a two-candidate race.
Saw an article today that a large number of Republicans have said they will vote for Hillary if Trump gets the nomination ...

Very seriously there are multiple 3rd parties to choose from ... no need to create another one ... and there have been regular well-funded attempts pretty much every decade, there was one not long ago funded by "liberal" folks like Tom Friedman (seriously, he was and may still be a democrat and consider himself a liberal, if a hawk, see Hillary) The Working Families party looks good but it's mostly eastern seaboard. Last I looked there were even US Pirate Party chapters in some states. Wikipedia has lists and website addresses. There are I think at least 3 socialist parties and Peace and Freedom is still running candidates in California. Homework time.

Yes, he needs to not demonize Hillary into someone he cannot support ... so he stops short ... and she doesn't need to...
I gather he will go back to the Senate as an independent if he doesn't get the nomination so, avoiding being a 2016 election "spoiler" is not a matter of "cowardice" ... in the future, the democrats need his vote and he is likely to need theirs.
Jill Stein sent him an open letter suggesting collaboration ... others believe they can convince him to do a 3rd party run ... Increasing mentions of pressure for him to quit, which he has pledged not to do until the election (as I recall, things change) and I suspect he will get enough flak and endless griping and accusations ... even though, the longer he stays in the race and keeps hope alive, the short period will exist for his die-hard supporters to decide to bail on the Democratic Party ... so far anyway, numerically, Republicans will pick up the slack ...
Gore should have won in 2000, even with unprecedented support for Nader's second or third Green party run .. he ran a bad campaign and then there was Florida.

Mina, Thankyou for the reminder on the other thread of the insider trading before 9/11. Isn't it amazing that we found no way to expose their identities? Perfectly outrageous that the SEC wasn't required to disclose this. It's like the rest of the investigation-- well and truly cuckolded from the start.

For my part I would be satisfied if the citizens who realized that elements of their own govt did this could remember that realization. Remember it and integrate the knowledge into their worldview. If one has once realized that the govt is controlled by those who commit murder at home and abroad, if one has seen that they weaken govts abroad in the interest of their own personal global oligarchy, if has realized that the media lie outrageously about 9/11 and every other thing of oligarchic interest-- why then we could bring them down. But no, people shy back from the reality. Maybe this time the liars -- the proxy faces, the masks for TPTB-- maybe this time they are not lying.

If there are men of action how can they hope to gain legitimacy from a citizenry that steadfastly recoils from the truth?

Let me give you an example. I showed to a friend this video of the Brassard family who are shown to be faking injuries from the Boston Marathon bombing, with the connivance of the media. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FqzypHVzYAM

Then I showed him the photos taken from an office overlooking where the crisis actors awaited their turn for the photographer. Two did not even lie down until the photographer was ready for them, at which time one "became dead." We actually see one woman put on her "blood makeup." We see Cowboy Hat, lounging & waiting for the final event. Looked at carefully these are conclusive proof that the Boston Marathon bombing was a hoax.http://deepinsidetherabbithole.com/The_Boston_Bombing_Hoax.html

Yet my friend could not bring himself to a judgement contrary to that of authority.
I have no words.

This leads to some important questions: Was Bernie meant to be a sheepdog? Does Bernie know he is a 'sheepdog' (that is, does he play the part)? What does Bernie as sheepdog say about the DNC and/or Bernie? about the integrity of our two-party focused electoral system (the 'duopoly')? About what his voters should do when/if he doesn't get the nomination?

Many Sanders supporters do not want to see the truth. He has been sold to these young millenials as some sort of aging Paladin. 'Sold' in much the same way that Obama was sold (even their slogans are similar)

The urging for Sanders to leave the race, and urging by some supporters that he run independently are to be expected. They don't prove that he isn't a sheepdog.

Sanders late-in-the-game fiestiness and his hopes for winning over Super-delegates at the Convention only keep his supporters engaged. He has little chance of winning barring a dramatic event like Hillary being charged with a crime (the email issue will be quietly taken care of at the appropriate time - probably via pleading to a lesser charge).

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I find your comments about Obama's run in 2008 to be naive. Obama's 'unexpectedly strong' campaign got a LOT of support from Wall Street. In fact, his short political career before his Presidential run got a lot of support from powerful, wall-street connected people.

Like Bernie, Obama claimed that he got most of his financial support from small donors and that his support was a grassroots movement. We now know that a great deal of his money came from Wall Street. And Obama kneecapped whatever "grassroots movement" he had after taking office.

Blues, Yeah, those same photos & vid used to be on a better site, but since they aren't anymore I have to link to where they are. I think people understand that one is recommending the link, not the whole site where it's posted.

What the American people must demand on all federal ballots is the choice for "None of the Above". The election for that office would be declared null and void if the count exceeds the count for all other candidates running for office. New candidates would appear on the ballot who aren't required to have an allegiance to either the Republican "red" team or the Democratic "blue" team. The American people will be motivated to vote should this powerful option of rejecting all candidates becomes available and is a check against the supremacy of political parties since they have become an anathema to good government.

The country also needs to elect the Speaker of the House of Representatives as a separate balloted position. The speaker wields great power and controls the flow of legislation in the House of Representatives and is second in line to the presidency. Such high office demands the people's consent until the rules of the House are changed to remove the speaker's partisan power to move bills through committees and relegates the position to a manager of congressional workflow as it was when the nation was founded.

All congressional offices would be vacant at the conclusion of their respective terms including the sitting President of the United States if no candidate or incumbent exceeds the tally for "None of the Above". This is not a political disaster as some would think since the bureaucracy is still in place to provide administrative duties such as dispensing social security funds, paying Medicare claims, the military, etc. for the budgeted year. America has enough laws, statutes, regulations in effect that a few months (if it takes that long) without a functioning legislature would not be catastrophic for the nation.

The real power of democracy is when the majority of people recognize their individual liberties and freedoms are being sacrificed to political parties and special interest groups so they can continue with their self-serving corruption. The people must have this option to reject the electoral system completely and that can only be peacefully accomplished by counting "None of the Above". We must end the elitists reign of terror and debt servitude by reclaiming our democracy in totality.

Of course Trump can't actually win for two reasons:
1. 30% of voters are minority and they vote 85% Democrat. Pretty tough leasd to overcome.
2. Counting of the vote is not honest, is controlled by TPTB
The above is from https://RichardCharnin.wordpress.com who also says that Bernie won quite a few more primaries, but the vote count was crooked. He gives reasons, exit polls, etc. Did you know that exit poll results are legally "adjusted" to match reported vote results?

According to him the idea that we have a 50/50 split between Dems & Reps is phoney. I've no idea whether he's correct or not. He's a statistician & seems to be backing up his work. I prefer Orlov's world. Very like this one: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=n8j8BmgeYLA

"Where. . . is the hue and cry to extinguish coal seam fires? For the average person who has been completely taken in by the “climate change” mantra, this is most likely the first time the topic has been seen to be raised in public. And that is odd in the extreme, stunningly strange, in fact. There are 10,000 coal-seam fires burning out of control worldwide. Those fires pump out massive amounts of carbon dioxide — equal to 20% of the entire carbon footprint of the US. Hollywood schedules no concerts to “Put Out the Fires,” even though it would fit nicely on a T-shirt, and no one in Washington has said the first word about it. If common sense rules the argument, decades ago that would have been the first thing on the agenda: extinguish the coal seam fires. How odd that the activists of the world leap-frogged over this astoundingly obvious target and decided that dismantling the West’s industrial infrastructure would be a better place to start." https://wattsupwiththat.com/2016/04/26/of-pancho-villa-global-warming-the-end-of-the-world-and-other-tall-tales/ Hmmm --- ANOTHER inconsistency by TPTB in designing AGW?

The stop-Hillary camp in 2008 was up-front and powerful ... Ted Kennedy was still alive ... The big cheese movers and shakers did not die off after the election and IMHO are likely represented in the woodwork of the Sanders support ... Obama was always a Trojan horse, a fraud ... he was a very well-calculated hail Mary pass because if the party had lost in 2008, the party would have imploded. Obama solidified the party "fairly well" in his 8 years, considering his failure to keep campaign promises, the fact that he's got no particular core politics of his own, and stands for little to nothing (except disappointment).

In my crystal ball, Clinton will win following which the country and party (separately) will fissure and there will be hell to pay ... Our democracy doesn't work and the neoliberals and 1% are going to demand to be have
their interests served.

(I've suspected that the GOP "threw" the election in 2008 ... bomb bomb bomb Iran meets Sarah Palin ... and they may even be banking on a "live to fight another day" by running an "outsider" (like Bush and/or Obama) whose defeat can be claimed to NOT be a true referendum on their party (because he's such an outsider)

I've always wondered if Edwards are somehow set up ... to be permanently eliminated ... whatever, more speculation. The young folk who got behind Obama and "won!!!" because "The System Works!!!" are going to face a steep and ugly learning curve ... I voted in a several elections before "my candidate" (Carter, who I didn't like much, too religious) won ... and look how that turned out ... Carter's name was mud or worse for almost 30 years. nuf.

"It is reported “PolitNavigator” citing a source in the Verkhovna Rada.

As noted edition, obtaining Canadian citizenship Yatsenyuk – a guarantee of the Western partners to the life of the prime minister and his family, if “something goes wrong”, and the situation in Ukraine will in a radical direction.

@ 32
No surprise. There's a shitload of former Banderistas in Canada (salvaged at the end of ww2).
Now go and build a pyramid of sulphur-blocks in Athabasca and bury him when he arrives! The smell of sulphur fits him well.
If that happens, I'll visit the Great Pyramid of Yats.

Strategic simple score ("simple score") voting can be completely described in one short simple sentence: Strategically bid no vote at all (ignore them as if the did not exist), or strategically bid from five (5) to ten (10) votes to any number of candidates you wish (up to some reasonable limit, say 20 candidates (20 ballot entries), where each voter counts up their ballot entries by numbering them), and then simply add all the votes up.

Any reasonably intelligent person can see how strategic simple score voting would completely disrupt and remove the two-party spoiler effect.

For example:

Social justice voters could give 10 votes to Dennis Kucinich, 10 to Cynthia McKinney, 10 to Jesse Ventura, and 5 to 9 to Bernie Sanders.

@10 likklemore.. that article was before the colour rev in brazil which is still in the process of unfolding...

@32 alberto.. that is a poorly written article.. it might or might not be true, but just reading the article raises many questions!

@33 slirs.. true enough... this freak chrystia freeland got a federal seat in the last election... warmonger of the first order - fanatic ukee mentality.. trudeau never gave her a central seat in his gov't however..

No alternative system of election will work any differently than the current one. Only a real revolution will make a difference. Americans are both too greedy and to complacent to ever really revolt ... most, even the poor, would rather have the current system to the unknown. Worse, the young only want the same treatment their parents have ... and the rest of the world isn't going to let that happen.
The best scenario is simple collapse of the world economy ... or ecocide. The one real issue is when will the cancerous growth (people) finally kill the planet. All else is simple hard wringing and pontificating.

April 26, 2016 - You cannot make this stuff up ... "Canada grants citizenship to Ukraine Prime Minister Yatsenyuk and his immediate family."

Former Conservative PM Stephen Harper, will never dare to Grants citizenship to Yatsenyuk and family and get away with it. Only Liberal Party Justin Trudeau can do it.

GW Bush, when asked what was his greatest failure after his two terms..... said his biggest failure in office was not reforming Social Security. We have Change president Oboma change and cut Social Security which GW Bush unable to do.... "6) Obama made (most of) the Bush Tax Cuts permanent via collusion with Republicans that resulted in the 'Fiscal Cliff' kabuki......cuts in social spending.

/~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
83 US Senators have signed a letter today demanding that President Obama quickly reach a new military aid deal with Israel, and one that is worth considerably more than the $3 billion annually that Israel is already receiving. The letter claimed Israel needs more money to “defend itself.”
\~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

That would be maybe $3,300,000,000 annually to Israel. PLUS this new tax.

I am one of about 330,000,000 Americans.

I am collectively paying $10 from my pocket yearly just for the acknowledged "moral debt" to fascist Israel.

83 US Senators have signed a letter today demanding that President Obama quickly reach a new military aid deal with Israel......

Do you know the 32 Democrats signed the letter, except Bernie did not signed it?

Further did you know Obama released Israel's spy Jonathan Pollard last November which, GW Bush refused? ....Pollard becomes eligible for parole in November, on the 30thanniversary of his arrest on charges of selling classified.....

Nope, it would take years to get everyone voting "Strategic simple score" ... you and I won't be around and, you really trust duopoly.....? They will moves the goal posts before the people decide enuff is enuff!

Did you speed read the article at link? It is not Brazil related. The color Counterrevolution cometh to the U.S. and Washington Syndicate; the current Trump-Hillary-Sanders campaign. Dimitri leans to Trump. He concludes and is hopeful for a Trump win and what ensues:

[.]If all goes well then, starting next year, tens of thousands of Washington operatives, along with their friends in various politically connected industries, such as banking, defense, medicine and education, will evacuate to a variety of nonextradition countries (which will no doubt respond by raising the prices of their passports) while thousands more will begin their lengthy sojourns at federal penitentiaries. And thus the crisis will be defused.

And if it doesn't go well, then we'll probably be looking at a “deteriorating security environment.” How far it will deteriorate is anyone's guess, but if you are one of the Washington régime's stooges then you may want to get yourself a second passport before the prices go up and get out ahead of time.

At this point I don't think there's much of a Never Trump movement, nor do I think the gopper establishment has much reason to fear him any more than they would fear Hillary. He has already hired a foreign policy team of mostly neocons. Imho, his domestic economic rhetoric is about as believable as Hillary's "I'm now against the TPP" BS.

He is quickly becoming completely absorbed into the gopper mainstream--if he already wasn't there to begin with. His recent private meeting comment to a group of political-economic bigwigs that his campaign rhetoric is an act should put any doubt to rest.

Jack Smith -I know u didn't ask me but my 2 cents: that'd be a really dynamic pick and she would probably win if she were to choose Sanders. I am thinking on the Republican side it's going to be trump and Christie but I am always wrong.

Political party affliation is one of the few almost universal collective identities remaining, even if you're an independent. Unions and churches used to also count and had the important function of educating voters about their interests and issues.

I think one thing standing in the way of organizing sustained opposition is a lack of understanding, education in alternatives and a lack of tradition of political involvement ... it's passive couch-potato audience behavior for most, because why get spend your free time working for multimillion dollar campaigns for millionaire candidates ... y'know?

Even if many fail to be educated by Sanders wrt Socialism, they are being educated that "alternatives" exist and are possible (which is arguable, but still a new and novel concept for many). Generally, little to no harm, no foul that I see. He has kept what might have been "false hopes" to a minimum, strikingly so, after the Obama deception of 2008.

Anon27april please don't ruin this sites comment section about why we are in touch w et's when someone just made a passing jab the hillary is an e.t. ... Jesus man I've heard most of that on coasttocoastam.

Bernie isn't going anywhere. He knew what he was doing when he signed on to be Democratic Party's progressive candidate (aka 'sheepdog').

Bernie will fight the good fight up to the Convention where Hillary will throw this dog a bone for his loyal service: VP (not likely)? cabinet position like Health & Human Services (more likely)?

The progressive left needs to plan accordingly.

There is already a "Party of the 99%", and it is on the ballot in 35+ states: The Green Party. Kshama Sawant recognizes this in his article when he urges Sanders to run as an independent or on the Green ticket.

The Greens have almost the same positions as Bernie on most issues. Instead of falling into the cult-of-personality trap (Sanders as savior), we should be talking about principles and issues.

Jackrabbit - good thoughts. but even bernie knows that if he ran third party it would be a Trump presidency and he can't stomach that. I like Sanders because of his principles on issues and I personally believe he'd end Syrian affairs before a Trump presidency as I just personally believe trump will jump however high his generals suggest but there is always hope he'd (trump) be tight w Putin which would be nice. I have a hard hard time seeing Sanders anywhere but the veep

and where the decisions (power for change) reside ... An obsession with executive branch power has developed creating the illusion that bolsters the unitary executive and seemingly allowing decisions at state level to be effectively made against "majority opinion" ... often without organized opposition. We deplore the unitary executive as it's intervention is increasingly desired as some "last resort"

An example has been seen wrt police brutality, federal investigation of civil rights violations -- well and good -- but "states rights" and local government and budgets can keep changes from being made, see Ferguson's dilemma now -- and also precludes demanding responsibility at the local and state level as more and more becomes a matter of federal investigation or recommendation. The federal attorney general and department of justice can make changes federal guidelines, sentencing for instance, and make positive headlines, with no change in the same matters on state level, where most sentences are passed.

I an't against it, if the majority voters adopt it. Can you change die-hard voters across the spectrums in about a year - Blacks, Millenniums, Democrats/Republicans, Religious fanatic (Muslims, Protestants, Catholics, Hindus, Buddhists..), Rednecks, sicko, NPP (No Party Preference), 1%..........?

The laws of Ukraine do not allow the possession of two nationalities and two passports.

"Famous Ukrainian oligarch Igor Kolomoysky, which played a key role in the overthrow, and to finance the war against the Donbas, admitted that there were three of nationality: Ukrainian, the Cyprus and Israel. At the same time, in his style, he explained: "I did not violated. The law prohibits two citizenships, but does not prohibit three. "

American politics have become team sports, obsessed with the top two "traditional rivals" with the vast majority of the audience only tuning in for the final championships ... perhaps even only to something analogous to the post-season bowl games every 4th-year November.

83 US Senators have signed a letter today demanding that President Obama quickly reach a new military aid deal with Israel......

Do you know the 32 Democrats signed the letter, except Bernie did not signed it?

Corrupt Senate is as much a problem as is the so-called Unitary Executive Puppetry. Really, there is no need or purpose for the Senate or the electoral college. 100 Senate prostitutes truly work against the common citizens.

I have said all along that Bernie has been playing role of sheepherder. As such, he will be offered and he will take the Veep Slot. His populist ideas and he will be shelved. TPP, Big Oil, Wall Street and Full on war mode will ensue if the Hell Harpie wins.

The only sliver of hope of any peace is offered by the Combover Cowboy.

Syrian officials and locals have confiscated a vehicle loaded with Israeli-manufactured weapons in the Arab country’s southern province of Suwayda.

An unidentified local source said that the authorities ambushed a car full of weapons and ammunition bound for the Daesh Takfiri terrorists on Wednesday morning, Syria's official news agency, SANA, reported.

Damascus says the Tel Aviv regime and its Western and regional allies are aiding the Takfiri militant groups fighting against the Syrian government.

The Donald has sure silenced the ziomedia with his last 6 huge wins.
Know a man by his enemies.How anyone can see him as establishment needs their head and heart examined.
17 senators refuse to approve more aid to Israel.BS among them,a few reps,and about 13 dems,but Warren was not among them.Another deer in zioheadlights.(reddit?)
Adelsons Las Vegas newspaper bans reporters from critiquing Jabba the Hut.(graun)
MP in Britain on carpet for tweeting in 14,before her election,that they should move Israel to America.(God forbid!)Antisemite!(Indy)
Exit polls for HB in many states don't match up with votes.(CP)
And Trump says if the HB was a man,she'd be polling 5%.Of course.And if the black morons hadn't voted in mass for her,she'd be toast.What a bunch of self hating maroons,where antisemitism cuts the nose from their face.

45;Sweep?She clocked him with minority votes in Pa,Del,Maryland and squeaked by with the ghetto vote in Con.
RI was a strong victory for BS,albeit a small state.Very few minorities,or at least not as many in RI.
As Trump says,if she were a man,with her resume,she would have been Rudy Giuliani,a distant 10th.She is draculas(RG) clone.

Alberto @72
The Senate as backstop...
This dialog took place between writer Phillip Rexroth and a "stranger" many years ago. The "stranger " is identified couple days later:

Rexroth--One night I said to him, “Don’t you believe in the integrity of any politician whatsoever? Don’t you believe that a few rare people are motivated by a disinterested desire to serve society?” He didn’t. “How about La Follette and Burton Wheeler?” I said. “You know everybody in Montana. I don’t agree with them, but you certainly must admit that they are honest men and really believe what they say.

Stranger--” “Did you ever go to a baseball game?”

“Of course,” I said.

“Uh hunh,” he said. “What’s behind the catcher?”

“Why, there’s nothing behind the catcher, except the umpire.”

“Oh yes there is,” he said. “Think.”

“I can’t think of anything. There’s just the boxes in the grandstand.” “What’s between the box seats and the catcher?” “Nothing.”

“Oh yes there is; there’s a wire net called the backstop. It catches the balls the catcher misses, and all the fouls that go off in that direction, so that nobody in the box seats gets hurt. That’s the function of guys like La Follette and Wheeler, and believe me, they know it if you don’t.”

Two days later the "stranger" was identified as Se. Burton Wheeler of Montana.

Jesus, you're like a broken fucking record. Who got us into Iraq? Was that the Democrats? Who forced Medicare Part D through congress and specified that the government couldn't negotiate prices with the pharmaceutical companies? Not the democrats.

Advised by CITI's Elliot Ruben, Tres Sec, Bill Clinton repealed Glass Steagal enabling FIRE to co-mingle. Hereby, they invented CDO's and Credit Default Swaps which facilitated the 2008 crash. Dubya encouraged "The Ownership Society" to buy and borrow. This was the set up before the crash. The shorts made a killing off the backs of Mortgaged Borrowers.

The Democrats ENABLED all the rip offs, Republican privatization schemes and the destruction of civil rights. Obama Admin protected the banks and shafted the citizens, carried out edicts of PNAC and Yinon Plans for MENA wars. Obama's last big push is the draconian TPP.

Hillary is guaranteed to continue same. She'll get the TPP passed if he doesn't.

Gore should have won in 2000, even with unprecedented support for Nader's second or third Green party run .. he ran a bad campaign and then there was Florida.

Gore was in an impossible position – “Christian morals” without the political courage to back them up. He was obviously as disgusted as much of the country over Zipper Bill’s dirty deeds in the Oral Office and his lying in the Paula Jones case. But Gore just didn’t have the guts to come out and explicitly distance himself from the Clintons. And so not only did he not get any advantage he might have from having the Clintons campaigning for him, he let their stench stick by not taking the moral high-ground.

- - - -

#2
Susan Sunflower | Apr 26, 2016 6:25:36 PM | 23

In my crystal ball, Clinton will win following which the country and party (separately) will fissure and there will be hell to pay ... Our democracy doesn't work and the neoliberals and 1% are going to demand to be have their interests served. I've always wondered if Edwards are somehow set up ... to be permanently eliminated ... whatever, more speculation.

Again, I pretty much agree with where you’re coming from – certainly about a fissure coming. But if the 1968 Democratic debacle taught us anything, it is that picking a nominee is a dirty business and, short of blocking a hugely popular candidate, any outcome is possible. My crystal ball is still saying Biden will be the Democratic candidate.

No rational analysis of what will happen in the next 2 months can ignore the specter of Hillary being indicted, even though the pundits all ignore that possibility. Andrew Napolitano is very convincing when he explains why Hillary is in big trouble. If she is indicted, the party machinery will no more let Bernie get the ticket than they let McGovern or McCarthy in 1968. It’s not so much that Bernie is a Jew with wacko, populist ideas, but that he doesn’t suck Netanyahu’s ass. That’s why he’s a pariah in his own party. Ponder the irony of that one: a Jewish politician being shit-canned because he doesn’t support Yisrael sufficiently.

When the whole nomination system is turned on its head by Hillary’s indictment – just like it was by Bobby’s assassination – Biden will be the only real choice, maybe with Yisrael-firster Warren as VP to keep AIPAC happy. OTOH, if Lynch/Comey announce there will be no indictment, the Republicans will splatter that white-wash on Clinton and every Democrat within a country mile of her, and then they will indict her when they take the WH.

My guess is that May is going to be the wildest month in US politics since Bobby was shot.

Centered on 'America First'. But to Trump that seems to mean economic realism more than foreign policy realism (when you've got a hammer ...). As a result, his speech had gaps and inconsistencies and generally followed the contours of the MSM narrative. Some examples of how the MSM narrative distorts:

> he talks about ISIS and 'radical Islamic terr0rism' but fails to mention KSA or madrasas.

> he says military spending is down since 2011 but fails to say WHY (end of Iraq War), and fails to take note of the big increase in 'black budget' military expenditures.

> he says allies should pay more, but what does that mean? Allies pay tribute? (like Mexico builds the wall.) Would he accept allies (like Europeans) forming security alliances that exclude USA?

> he takes OBama's FP to task but doesn't address the "lead from behind" policy that emboldens and sanctifies their mischief.

I wonder if what he is mainly trying to do in this speech is counter the neocon establishment's NEVER TRUMP campaign. To these people, no one can be 'serious' about FP without constantly fretting about Israel's defense and constantly pushing for higher defense spending.

We all know except apologists what will happen after November 2016 if Democrats in the White House and control both Houses of Congress. Remember 2008?

Trump is a teaser releasing bits and pieces of crumbs and dunno what he'll do if he win. TPP and TPIP are real, will cripple most families here and elsewhere. Beside losing sovereignty to the 1%, it’s mainly against China another regime change?

FOR THE INSIDE SCOOP ON EACH PRIMARY: Richard is usually able to get the exit poll results fairly close completion (before they are adjusted to match the fraudulent vote count). He's a statistician. He's reported the tremendous odds against Bernie's having lost some states that Hillary "won". According to him, Bernie has more electoral votes than Hillary--- IF the vote were not fraudulent. The post is long and detailed, but you can skip thru to the text paragraphs that tell you the story on each state. Obviously we need paper ballots, counted publicly at each polling station, w/o being transported anywhere. Also, I know there are unnecessary obstacles to the success of third parties, but I don't know what they are.

"The pollsters ALWAYS force the unadjusted exit polls to match the recorded vote. Where are the unadjusted exit polls? The American Association for Public Opinion Research (AAPOR) discusses the matching process in Explaining Exit Polls. :

In close races, the projection models also employ actual vote totals, first in sample precincts as it becomes available and then at the county level for all counties in a state as they become available. It is important to note that after the votes have been counted, the exit poll results are adjusted to match the actual election outcomes. It is in this way that the final exit poll data can be used for its primary and most important purpose – to shed light on why the election turned out the way it did. --AAPOR

"Note: It’s not just in close races. Unadjusted exit polls are adjusted to match the recorded vote in ALL races.

"The AAPOR never mentions election fraud as a likely cause of the discrepancies. In actuality all of the adjusted exit poll crosstabs contaminate the true statistical results and are misleading as they do not reflect the the actual responses of those exit polled.

"Exit pollsters at Edison Research should not be making adjustments. But it is standard operating procedure. It is unscientific and hides the actual exit poll results. It serves to cover-up the fraud which is measured by the recorded vote discrepancy." https://richardcharnin.wordpress.com/category/2016-election/

curious that in all this election blather here at moa nobody has ever even mentioned John McAfee.

in a recent interview i don't remember where when John was questioned about his 'checkered past' he said, and i'm paraphrasing, something like, "yeah, and i challenge each and every one of you out there to get through this life exercising your own free will...to stay out of prison."

No, the republic has been gone for a long time. At best it was an 'oligarchic republic.' The United States Constitution was created by imperialists ... Washington, especially Jefferson, Madison, et al. That becomes especially true if you carefully look at what has been sold as 'Jacksonian Democracy.' The Removal Act of 1830 set up the reality that the empire would and could remove undesirables. In that sense, Obomba is a Jacksonian Democrat.
Those of you who persist in trying to return the US to its' original democratic values are simply making noise ... perhaps pleasant noise, but noise none the less. Now if you'd attempt to return the US to its' democratic rhetoric, that may be possible. Remember that Manifest Destiny no only looked at 'from sea to sea' but from pole to pole. Whether the latter only encompassed the western hemisphere may be up to debate. I don't think so ... while the neocons and their apologists may only be more honest in their drive for hegemony, the 'founding fathers' were similarly hegemonic in their outlook.

Trumps foreign policy speech today was laughable mainly in presentation - the dude sucks with a teleprompter like everyone else in the world who tries to use a teleprompter except for at times barack obama. Trump needs to ditch the teleprompter and speak from the heaart again especially on Foreign Policy -

Arseni Yatsenyuk denied belonging to the Church of Scientology. However, there is evidence that the coup-instaured Ukrainian Prime Minister, and member of the Trilateral Commission, resided in California where he met in 2009 the secretive leader of the cult, David Miscavige. "Yats" reportedly joined the organization during his association with the Aval Bank, in 2005, and became a senior member of the cult reaching a position known as "OT-6" (Operative Thetan Level 6)...

all open threads since at least january have been about the us election.. for those of us who don't live in the usa it gets tiring! i realize many in the usa think they are the centre of the universe, but it doesn't look that way to others!! continue...

'The price of apathy towards public affairs is to be ruled by evil men.'
/

- Plato

'Within the next generation I believe that the world’s rulers will discover that infant conditioning and narco-hypnosis are more efficient, as instruments of government, than clubs and prisons, and that the lust for power can be just as completely satisfied by suggesting people into loving their servitude as by flogging and kicking them into obedience.'

Huxley, Aldous (2014-07-01). Brave New World.

'I know this steak doesn't exist. I know that when I put it in my mouth, the Matrix is telling my brain that it is juicy and delicious. After nine years, you know what I realize? Ignorance is bliss.'

- Cypher in 'The Matrix' (1999)

“The technotronic era involves the gradual appearance of a more controlled society. Such a society would be dominated by an elite, unrestrained by traditional values. Soon it will be possible to assert almost continuous surveillance over every citizen and maintain up-to-date complete files containing even the most personal information about the citizen. These files will be subject to instantaneous retrieval by the authorities. ”

“In the technotronic society the trend would seem to be towards the aggregation of the individual support of millions of uncoordinated citizens, easily within the reach of magnetic and attractive personalities exploiting the latest communications techniques to manipulate emotions and control reason.”

― Zbigniew Brzeziński, Between Two Ages: America's Role in the Technetronic Era

'The price of apathy towards public affairs is to be ruled by evil men.'

- Plato

'Within the next generation I believe that the world’s rulers will discover that infant conditioning and narco-hypnosis are more efficient, as instruments of government, than clubs and prisons, and that the lust for power can be just as completely satisfied by suggesting people into loving their servitude as by flogging and kicking them into obedience.'

Huxley, Aldous (2014-07-01). Brave New World.

'I know this steak doesn't exist. I know that when I put it in my mouth, the Matrix is telling my brain that it is juicy and delicious. After nine years, you know what I realize? Ignorance is bliss.'

- Cypher in 'The Matrix' (1999)

“The technotronic era involves the gradual appearance of a more controlled society. Such a society would be dominated by an elite, unrestrained by traditional values. Soon it will be possible to assert almost continuous surveillance over every citizen and maintain up-to-date complete files containing even the most personal information about the citizen. These files will be subject to instantaneous retrieval by the authorities. ”

“In the technotronic society the trend would seem to be towards the aggregation of the individual support of millions of uncoordinated citizens, easily within the reach of magnetic and attractive personalities exploiting the latest communications techniques to manipulate emotions and control reason.”

― Zbigniew Brzeziński, Between Two Ages: America's Role in the Technetronic Era

Trump with slogan "....great again" has expertly snatched and expanded a pre-manufactured Tea Party theme which was cultivated by Fox News and MSM in general. The core of his base was built from these viewers. They believe that Obama has ruined the erstwhile greatness of America by being black (half black, really) and by being a wimp.

Of course, none of that is true, but perception is key.

Obama in fact is a ruthless warmonger and like Bush and Clintons a prostitute for FIRE, Pharma, AHIP and big business generally.

A Russian film-maker claims to have unmasked what would be the most audacious deception of EU and US institutions in modern times.
Andrei Nekrasov, who is better known as a critic of the Russian regime, put forward the accusations in a documentary...

The film says that Bill Browder, a British businessman, fraudulently convinced politicians and investigators on both sides of the Atlantic that Russian officials stole $230 million from Russian taxpayers and murdered the man, Sergei Magnitsky, who reported the crime.

Act 2

The film was to be screened in the European Parliament on Wednesday 27 April. The event was to be organized by the Green/EFA group: (Or was it?)

Bill Browder hires lawyers to block the screening of the film: (source)

A screening in the European Parliament of a documentary about Russia was canceled at the 11th-hour on Wednesday after lawyers for the widow and former business partner of a high-profile critic of Vladimir Putin intervened.

An hour before MEPs and guests were to watch “The Magnitsky Act — Behind the scenes,” which defends the Russian government against allegations that it was behind the murder of prominent whistleblower Sergei Magnitsky, the lawyers stepped in, calling the documentary “degrading.”

The screening in the Parliament in Brussels had been in doubt for several hours before the plug was pulled, casting a shadow over an event hosted by Green group vice-chairwoman Heidi Hautala, whose boyfriend, Russian filmmaker Andrei Nekrasov, made the documentary.

Brexiteers should have been prepared for the shattering intervention of the US. The European Union always was an American project.
It was Washington that drove European integration in the late 1940s, and funded it covertly under the Truman, Eisenhower, Kennedy, Johnson, and Nixon administrations.[.]